On this day in 1956, the Sabin Polio Vaccine was ready for mass testing. Developed by Dr. Albert B. Sabin, the live-virus oral polio vaccine would eventually help bring an end to the polio epidemic that ran rampant in America during the early 20th century. Below is an excerpt from Wired magazine’s blog, “This Day in Tech” which showcases Dr. Sabin and his revolutionary polio vaccine, take a look:

“1956: Dr. Albert Sabin announces that his live-virus oral polio vaccine is ready for mass testing. It will soon supplant the Salk vaccine.

Poliomyelitis is an infectious disease caused by viruses. Its effects range from complete recovery to death. Intermediate possibilities are mild after-effects, moderate to severe paralysis of a limb or limbs, or paralyzed chest muscles, necessitating the confining but lifesaving use of an iron lung.

Polio epidemics periodically ravaged American cities in the first half of the 20th century. Children were especially vulnerable, but the disease also struck adults, most notably former Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1921.

Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, and he founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (as the disease was then often called) in 1938. The foundation conducted a huge annual fundraising campaign called the March of Dimes.”

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